Collar-ironing apparatus.



J. T. TRUITT.

COLLAR IRONING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 001'. 21, 1912.

1,069,988, Patented Aug. 12, 1913.

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J. T. TRUITT.

COLLAR IRONING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 001- 21, 1912 1,069,988. Patented Aug. 12, 1913.

2 SHEETS SHEBT 2.

, IHIIIIIIII H" I m I if JOHN T. 'rnurr'r, or sr. LoUIs, MISSOURI.

COLLAR-IRQNING arramrus.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 1 2,191 3.

Application filed October 21, 1912. Serial No. 726,904.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN T. TRUITT, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Collar-Ironin Apparatus, of which the followin is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to an apparatus for ironing personal apparel collars of the kind known as turn over collars, and the apparatus is one intended particularly for ironing the tops or folds of-the collars of the type alluded to.

Various attempts have been made to produce means by which the folds of turn over collars may be satisfactorily ironed in a manner to render the folds perfectly smooth and uniform when the collar has been ironed, and also in a manner to avoid cracking or breaking of the starched and stiff fabrics in the cpllars. These attempts have, however, so far asI am aware,-been only partially successful; and it is the object of my invention to produce an apparatus by which the operations of ironing the top folds of turn over collars may be carried out with a maximum of perfection.

Figure I is a top or plan view of my ap- 'paratus, with portions broken away to afford views of the parts beneath them. Fig.

II is an inverted plan view of he holder occupied by the smoothing irons f my apparatus, and the smoothing irons'therein, a

portion of said holder and one of the smoothing irons being shown in horizontal section. Fig. III is an enlarged horizontal section taken through a fragment of the smoothing iron holder and one of the smoothing irons, andfalso through fragments of the collar holder and the collar thereon in position in said smoothing iron to illustrate the relative position of the parts during collar ironing operations. Fig. IV is a wow partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section of m apparatus. Fig. V is a perspective view 0 one of the smooth-, ing irons. Fig. VI is a perspective view of a fragment of the collar holder, and one of the clips carried thereby illustrated as it appears in retaining one of the tongues of the collar when the collar is in position on the holder. Fig. VII is a horizontal section taken on the line VII-VII, Fig. IV.

In the drawings:1 designates the base of my apparatus, which may-be maintained upon any suitable support, and is surmounte by a bracket arm 2, having a horizontal member3, terminating in a head 4. The bracket arm 2 serves as a support for a holder A, in which is mounted a plurality of smoothing irons to be hereinafter particularly described, and said head is preferably connected to said bracket arm by a vertical stem 5 arranged in the head 4 of the bracketv arm and, if desired, adjustably held therein by a set screw 6, (see Fig. IV).

B designates a collar holder, which is. of cup-shape, and has a tapering rim 7 on which a turn over collar may be positioned preparatory to ironing its top well to here state that the sides of the collars intended to be'oper'ated upon. in my apparatus are thoroughly ironed before they areplaced upon the collar holder B, except in so far' as the folds of the collars are concerned; and these folds are moistened previous to being ironed by the use of my apparatus.

Inbrder that the collar holder 3 may be moved to and from a position beneath the smoothing iron holder A, to permit the desired ironing operations and the mounting of the collars on the collar holder, I mount the collar holder on a supporting arm. 8-, which is pivotally fitted to a post 9 extending upwardly from the base 1. The portion of said supporting arm immediately surrounding the post 9 is provided with a segment shaped slot 10, and the post is provided with a stop pin or stud 11, arran in said slot to serve as a means for limiting the movement of the supporting arm on its pivot. It will be apparent that one ofthe end Walls of said slot may be so positioned fold. It is able 'inanner.

arm. Oscillatory movement may be imparted to the collar holder by any suitable means, the means I have shown for this purpose comprising the following elements.- 13 is an operating shaft that may be driven in any suitable'manner. .This shaft is supported by any suitable means and is preferably located above .the pivot of the supporting arm' 8. The shaft is provlded with a crank arm 14 that carries a swivel 15- to which is attached a connecting rod 16. The connecting rod is pivoted to a swivel 17 carried bythe collar holder B. It willbe apparent that when the operating shaft 13 is rotated, its crank arm will, by traveling in a circular ath, impart a reciprocating movement to-tlie connect-ing rod 16, and the latter will in turn impart an oscillatory movement to the collar holder.

When the parts are arranged as shown in the drawin s, it is necessary to move the collar hol er vertically relative to the smoothing iron holder A, in order that the desired ironing operation may take place, and the desired movements of this kind may be obtained by the device shown in Fig. IV, which is cooperable with the stem 12 of the collar holder. This device comprises a double armed lever 18 fulcrumed at 19. One arm of this lever is located beneath the stem ofthe collar holder, and theother arm of the lever isengaged by aD-shaped cam 20 ona shaft 21, which may be operated in any suit- It will be obvious that when the cam 20 is rotated, its curved face will, 'by operating against the lever 18, act to depress the arm of the lever engaged thereby and elevate the other arm of the lever, with the result of causing it to elevate the collar holder, and further obvious that when the fiat face of the camcomes into contact with the lever 18, the arm of said lever that engages the stem of the collar holder will move to its lowered position to permit the descent of the collar,- holder.

I now come to the important features of my present invention, namely, the ironing elements to which the parts of the apparatus heretofore described are subsidiary. It will first be noted that the iron holder A is chambered to provide a heat receiving compartment 22 therein, into which heating medium may be introduced. The iron holder is preferably heated by the use of steam; and to provide for its being so heated, I connect to it steam conducting pipes 23, one of which may serve as an inlet pipe, and the other of which may serve as an outlet pipe. In the iron holder 'A and extending upwardly from its lower face is a groove 24, with which the rim 7 of the collar holder B is concentric when said collar holder is positioned beneath the iron holder, thereby providing for said rim and the collar thereon entering into said groove when the collar holder is moved "bores 25, and protrude beyond the top of T said holder, as most clearly seen in Fig. IV.

extends through the upwardly projected to the iron holder. In the iron holder, coincident with the groove 24, are bores 25 arranged in circular series, and in close juxtaposition.

26 designates cylindrical smoothing irons arranged in the bores 25 of the iron holder. These smoothing irons are provided with upwardly extending stems 81, which project through the-top of the iron holder above the The stems of the smoothing irons are surrounded .by helical springs'32, located between the bodies of the irons and the tops of the bores 25, by which the smoothing irons are yieldingly depressed into lowered positions, the said springs, however, yieldingly permitting upward movement of the smoothing irons for a purpose that will hereinafter fully appear.

In the body of each smoothing iron 26 is a slot 27, this slot being preferably of triangular shape, as most clearlyscen in Fig. V. The slots 27 receive screws or pins 33 that extend into the bores 25 from the outer I wall of the smoothing iron holder A, and serve to limit the longitudinal play of the smoothing irons and also to readjustsaid smoothing irons, when rotated, as will hereinafter fully appear.

Each smoothing iron is bifurcated at its lower end, providing a groove 28, which extends transversely of the smoothing iron, and two legs 29 and 30, which, as well as the base of the groove, furnish collar ironing faces, when the smoothing iron is operated against the fold of a turn over collar that is to be ironed. The groove 28 in each smoothing iron is of greater width than the thickness of the foldof a collar when in position on the collar holder B, in order that the smoothing iron may partake of a rotative movement while the fold of the collar is present in such groove.

. 34 designates springs by which the smoothin irons 26 are subjected to partial rotation or a purpose to be presently made clear. These springs, as illustrated in the drawings are of S-shape, and each spring end of the stem of the smoothing iron it is to impart partial rotation to, while its other end embraces the next adjacent smoothing iron stem. Springs of this kind, arranged as mentioned, furnish simple and eflicientmeans for partially rotating the smoothing irons, and it is obvious that other types of springs, or I equivalent means, might be utilized for the same purpose.

In the practical use of my ironing apparatus, a collar of which the fold is to be ironed is placed on the rim 7 of the collar holder B and secured in place by suitable means, such as the clips shown; and the folded collar having been moistened, either messes before or after the mounting on the collar to be ironed. The collar holder, is ready holder B is next elevated to the smoothing iron holder, and an oscillatory movement is imparted thereto by the means provided for such movements of the collar holder.

One of the clips for holding the collar to the work holder shown in the drawings is a tongue rigidly secured to the rim of the work holder and having at its upper end an outturned lip adapted toextend over the tabs of the collars to be ironed, as seen in Fig. VI. The other clip has a lip which overlies the other tab of the collar to be ironed, this clip being adjustably secured to the rim of the work holder, in order that it may he slid thereon to place its lip over the tab that receives it after the collar has been fitted to the work holder, with one of its tabs held by the first mentioned clip.

\Vhen the collar on the holder B is presented' to the iron holder, the fold of the collar enters the grooves 28 in the plurality of smoothing irons 26, and said smoothing irons are moved longitudinally against the action of the springs 32, with a constant but yielding pressure exerted by the irons against the fold of the collar. It will be apparent that when the collar is thus presented to the smoothing irons, the top of its fold seats against the base faces of the grooves 28 and, therefore, this portion of the fold i effectually ironed, while the collar holder B is in its elevated position and.

is subjected to oscillatory movement. Upon the upward or longitudinal movement of the smoothing irons 26, said irons are so adj usted that the pins 33 become positioned in the wider lower portions of the slots 27 in the irons and, as a consequence, said irons are permitted to partake of a partial rotation they are not susceptible of when the pins occupy the upper ends of said slots The springs 3a are, therefore, permitted to impart a partial rotation to the smoothing irons, in consequence 'of which the inner ironing faces of the legs 29 and 30 of the smoothing irons are presented to the sides of the fold of the collar and yieldingly held thereagainst while the collar is moved through the grooves in the irons. As a result, the side of the fold of the collar are effectually ironed at thesame time that the top of such told is being ironed.

When the collar holder is withdrawn from the smoothing iron holder of my apparatus, the springs 32 act to return the smoothing irons to their lowered positions and, during this movement, the pins-33 reenter the narrowed upper ends of the slots 27 in the smoothing irons and, by so doing, act to rerotate the irons to their normal positions so that the grooves therein are properly ad:

justed to permit the ready entrance of the next collar mounted on the collar holder into the series of smoothing irons, preparatory to the next ironing operation similar to that already described.

I claim:

1. An ironing apparatus comprising a work holder, a smoothingiron holder, a bifurcated smoothing iron rotatable in said smoothing iron holder, one of said parts being movable relative tothe other to cause said smoothing iron to straddle said work holder, means for imparting a partial rotation to said smoothing iron while straddling said work holder, and means for rerotating said smoothing iron to normal position.

An ironing apparatus comprising a work holder, a smoothing iron holder, a bifurcated smoothing iron rotatable in said smoothing iron holder, one of said parts being movable relative to the other to cause said smoothing iron to straddle said work holder, means for imparting a partial rotation to said smoothing iron while straddling said work holder, and a slot and pin connection between said smoothing iron and smoothing iron holder whereby said smoothing iron is returned to normal position.

3. An ironing apparatus comprising a work holder, a smoothing iron holder, a bifurcated smoothing iron rotatable in said smoothin iron holder, one of said parts being inova le relative to the other to cause said smoothing iron to straddle said work holder, means for yieldingly resisting longi-' tudinal movement of said smoothing iron when it is presented to said work holder, means for imparting a partial rotation to said smoothing iron while straddling said work holder, and means for returning said smoothing iron to normal position.

4. An ironing apparatus comprising a work holder, a smoothing iron holder, a bifurcated smoothing iron rotatable in said smoothing iron holder, one of said parts being movable relative to the other to cause said smoothing iron to straddlesaid work holder, means for yieldingly resisting longitudinal movement of said smoothing iron when it is presented to said work holder, and

a spring for imparting a partial rotation to said smoothing iron after it is presented to said work holder.

5. An ironing ap aratus comprising a work holder, a smoot ing iron holder, a bifurcated smoothing iron rotatable in said smoot-hing iron holder, one of said parts being movable relative tothe other to cause said smoothing iron to straddle said work holder, means for yieldingly resisting longitudinal movement of said smoothing iron when it is presented to said Work holder, :1 spring for imparting a partial rotation to said smoothing iron after it is presented to said work holder, and means whereby'said smoothing iron is re-rotated.

- 6. In, a collar ironing apparatus, a collar holder, a smoothing iron holder, a plurality of grooved smoothing irons rotatably mounted in said iron holder, means for im parting a partial rotation to said smoothing irons, and means for re-rotating said smoothing irons to normal position.

In acollar ironing apparatus, a collar holder, a smoothing iron holder,

a plurality of smoothing irons slidably and rotatably mounted in aid holder, means for imparting menses partial rotation to said smoothing irons,

each smoothing iron being provided with a tapering slot, and means mounted in said iron holder entering intothe tapering 15 slots in said smoothing irons for restoring the smoothing irons to normal position'after they have been partially rotated.

. J. T. TRUITT. In the presence of- A. J. MCCAULEY, E. B. LINN. 

